Former Myra Falls Mine workers are facing difficult choices, including the prospect of uprooting their lives to find employment elsewhere in the country, working in camps or taking a pay cut to stay put.
Unifor, which represents the 300 mine workers at Myra Falls and thousands more working in mines across the country, is surveying the laid-off employees to find out what they need, what kind of services they are looking for and if they are seeking local employment.
A meeting involving provincial agencies, community leaders, First Nations, municipal council representatives and the union to discuss next steps is set for Jan. 10. A preliminary meeting has already been held.
After news spread on Dec. 20 that the mine was shutting down and nearly 300 workers were being laid off, the union was bombarded with inquiries from mines across Canada looking for workers, some offering to fly workers into their sites, said Mario Santos, national representative for Unifor.
Companies spend millions of dollars to recruit mine workers and there’s a shortage of skilled employees, he said.
“A bunch of guys are going to be able to get some employment elsewhere.”
Those offered permanent work will have to decide if they are going to leave Campbell River for good, he said.
Others may find temporary camp work, allowing them to stay based on Vancouver Island.
“There’s going to be a lot of people that are going to want to stay in the community,” said Santos, adding the question is whether they will be able to find a job offering similar pay.
The layoffs came as the company announced it was seeking creditor protection. Union members have received back pay and pay up to Dec. 29, Santos said. They are anticipating another six weeks of pay from the company.
The initial plan was for the company to keep on 24 workers to maintain the mine. But a flood in recent days affected a “big chunk” of the mine, Santos said.
He thinks the employer is looking at the current situation to see if two dozen workers would be adequate in the event of a major incident.
Santos does not have details of the flood but said it was “pretty substantial.”
It took the company a few days to bring in needed pumps, he said. The flooding has been stopped and a cleanup process is underway.
